Courtesy Creative Commons by Foxtongue[/caption]If you’re a blogger, you know how frustrating it sometimes can be to get traffic to your blog. According to ProBlogger.net, an average of 8 readers will read a blog post title, while only 3 of those readers will actually read the article. Copyblogger.com says it’s only 2 of those 10 readers.
When I first read that, I was a little unnerved. Those aren’t very good odds. Then I thought about it a little more, and I realized how true it really is when I compared it to my blog reading habits. I go through my feedly digest every morning, and I skim through the titles. It takes a very interesting headline to make me click on it and read at least part of the article.
Keeping that in mind, what draws my attention to those certain posts? Obviously, they have to be talking about something I’m interested in. I’m not interested in soccer, so if I see a blog post with something related to soccer teams in Europe, I most likely won’t even finish reading the title.
More than that, though, a good blog post headline should have a few common characteristics. Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts for writing your blog titles.
Do:
Keep it short and sweet: Google has a display limit of 70 characters, and if your followers get your blog post updates via email, most email servers – especially when you’re looking at them on your phone – could cut you off anywhere between 40 and 50 characters. Because of these character limitations, you should keep your blog posts short and to the point.
Include a keyword: What is the main focus of your blog post? It should be in your blog title, preferably near the beginning so it definitely won’t get cut off.
Use strong language: By strong, I don’t mean offensive. I mean don’t be wishy-washy. Use an active verb. Be bold. Say exactly what you mean.
Tell the reader what the benefit is: What will the reader get out of reading your blog post? What’s the carrot at the end of the stick for your reader?
Don’t:
Use the wrong tone: I love this example from Go Cheap or Go Home. When writing a blog post about your uncle’s funeral, you probably wouldn’t title it “Bow-Chicka-Wow! Wow! My Uncle’s Funeral Recap.” Strike the proper tone. Being humorous is a good way to get people to read your blog post, but there is a line there somewhere.
Be misleading: In my opinion (and in many others’) having a misleading title is worse than a boring one. If I click on a blog title expecting to read something and get something totally different, I will flag that blog in my memory as one that lies and be more skeptical of anything they write in the future.
Writing a good headline is a must-have skill. As they put it on Copyblogger, “Without a compelling promise that turns a browser into a reader, the rest of your words may as well not even exist.” There’s something to be said for writing just for the sake of writing, but then you might as well be writing in a word document on your computer or in your own notebook, not online.
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